The Feathers of Our Wings
by CrescentMoonTenshi
Summary: Each and every one of us have wings. We can fly wherever we want with the Wings of Freedom. Each and every one of us are unique, and our experiences shape who we are. Just like the feathers creating the shape of our wings. A collection of Ereri centered oneshots. Chapter 4: Our Colors. "This was who they were and nothing could change that."
1. To Sacrifice One's Humanity

** Hello~! This is a collection of Eren and Levi centered oneshots, which also includes Ereri/Riren (whatever you like to call it. I see them more as equals.) Basically, it's a collection of headcanons. ;P This first chapter is Eren centered. You'll probably see this theme in the future as well.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. Luckily. I would not be able to do that story any justice. No one knows where that thing is headed! *is referring to latest manga chapter***

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**Chapter Name: _To Sacrifice One's Humanity_**

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**Normal POV**

Vague memories escaped his complete sight each time his eyes landed on the golden key hung protectively around his neck. The scenes and voices that abruptly invaded his mind sent him into uncontrollable rage as he watched them disappear in his own mind like elusive wisps, powerless to do a thing.

Recently however, instead of appearing with some sort of trigger that reminded him of family or Shiganshina, the memories abruptly assaulted his brain, forcing him to watch helplessly as his father muttered unclear syllables that he tried every time, in vain, to understand. For example, last week, as he chatted with Petra (he couldn't for the life of him remember what they were talking about anymore), he had suddenly paused mid-sentence, held captive within the confines of his own mind and feeling like he was millions of miles away.

"Go to the basement..." His frantic and nervous baritone voice skipped and faded in and out, just out of his reach. "You must make it to the basement, Eren. The answers are there."

He felt as though he were trying to look through a foggy mirror or was straining his hearing against a distant echo to hear the words.

He stared blankly at the air before him, eyes oddly dimmed to the point where an onlooker assumed that they were seeing a pair of glass eyes that belonged on a figurine. He remained completely unresponsive to any calls of his name, insults, loud noises... anything really.

Frozen like a statue and barely breathing.

Petra waved a hand in front of his face with growing concern, noticing how his eyelids did not even flutter in response. "Eren...? Eren. Eren!" Petra's loud voice eventually garnered the attention of the other Special Operations Squad members.

"What's wrong...?" Günter asked, staring in slight awe and concern at Eren's fixed form. "Eren...?" He called.

Eld glided over. "What is he doing?"

Petra's cinnamon orbs glimmered with worry. "I have no idea. We were talking and he suddenly froze in the middle of his sentence. He's been like this ever since. What should we do...?"

Oluo stalked over with a huff of annoyance. "Tch," He scoffed. "Just leave the brat alone. He'll come back from LaLa-Land eventually."

This earned him an elbow in the ribs (courtesy of Petra herself).

"Usually, I'd say we wait and give him a moment, but no matter how you look at it, his pose is kinda creepy... How is he still holding that teacup?" Günter replied. "Should we contact Levi-heichou...?"

Petra bobbed her head in agreement. "I'll go get him now," The brunette announced, scurrying out of the room.

They did not have to wait very long for her to return, one hand tightly gripping the sleeve of Levi's uniform as she furiously stalked toward them. "Look, Levi-heichou, you see this?" She gestured towards Eren's still figure. "He looks like someone stopped time only around him. Like someone pressed a 'pause' button."

Levi remained silent, opting instead to look into Eren's blank eyes, void of any light or emotion but not dead, with an expressionless countenance. Eren had paused just as he brought a teacup to his lips, eyes staring over the rim at a place none of them could really see. Calmly, the Corporal reached out with one hand and gently set it on the boy's shoulder, feeling a slight movement that indicated his breathing.

"Eren."

He observed, slightly fascinated, as the teen jumped back into life, eyes regaining their usual bright flame and reassuring everyone there.

"Welcome to the land of the living, brat." Oluo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Levi slid a cold stare over to him before turning back to the boy in front of him, removing his hand.

Eren stared in dazed shock and another emotion (hurt, perhaps?) at the faces in front of him. "He gave me a shot so I wouldn't remember..."

The world was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

Eren felt as though he were floating somewhere in between the dream world and the waking one as his consciousness slowly stirred. A moment later, he followed the pull that led to the real world, bleary turquoise eyes fluttering open to a dim, orange light. He was lying down on his back, and a blanket was thrown over his body to protect him from the evening's chilly air. From the window on his left, rays and tendrils of orange and red light gently filtered through, dying the room in a spectacular array of warm colors.

His mind was still hazy, and he felt as though he was still dreaming as he slowly turned his head to the right.

Someone was sleeping in a chair.

Eren stared for a long moment, processing the scene before him at a snail's pace before he rubbed his eyes and carefully rose from the infirmary's bed. As his feet landed on the cool floor, he realized he was wearing his common clothing- the ones that looked suspiciously similar to his favorite outfit when he was a child.

The teen gathered up the warm blanket with his hands before pattering over to the still figure of his commanding officer. Gently, he spilled the blanket over his sleeping body, noticing the soft rise and fall of his toned chest and the way his inky black bangs swept across his pale forehead. He smiled when he saw just how relaxed and clear the man's face was, void of his usual grumpiness and the furrowed eyebrows that accompanied it.

Satisfied, Eren made his way to the window seat, leaning against the wall as he pulled the key out from under his shirt. With a sigh, he flipped around the tiny item, and mimicked the smooth movements his father had made as he showed off the golden key before leaving for the trip inside the walls over and over again.

"'When I come back, I'll show you the basement I've been keeping you from,' huh?" Eren quoted softly as to not wake his guardian up. "Haha..." He laughed bitterly, putting a hand to his forehead with a crooked smile. "Isn't it so ironic, Tou-san...?"

_It's so ironic that you would leave on the same day as the fall of Wall Maria, just when you were going to show me the answers to all of our problems. It's ironic that just when I was truly going to become Humanity's Last Hope that the titans had to interrupt._

_ It's like they were trying to stop it all from happening._

"Where were you going...?" Eren asked as he stared down at the key in his hands. "And how did you find us after the wall fell?"

_I have so many questions._

_ But you're not here to answer any of them._

When Eren really got down to thinking about it, there had been several occasions where he was bleeding with a goal in mind as a child. Why hadn't he ever transformed into a titan then? When the bullies beat him and took Armin away, throwing him like a sack of potatoes or flour over their shoulders? When he desperately coughed out the blood in his mouth to gather the strength to chase them down again?

_Why now?_

Perhaps... that shot wasn't meant to erase his memories? Perhaps it was meant to do something else, but erasing one's memories was a side effect.

Like give him the ability to transform into a titan.

Eren felt rage swell up inside of his chest as he gripped the key tightly, feeling the teeth embed themselves into his palm.

He abruptly stood, throwing the window open and winding up with a huge intake of breath, the key positioned high above his head. Eren stilled, his thoughts racing as he stood frozen in the position to send the golden item flying through the air and into the forest below.

_If that shot really was meant to give me these powers, then what if that shot was all that was in the basement?_

Eren struggled with himself, as though war was raging inside him.

_No... then why would he tell me to go to the basement anyway, knowing that Shiganshina is probably filled with titans? Why would he give me the key?_

The teen eased the tension in his body with one huge sigh, dropping his arm and closing the window silently. "You better know what you're doing, Tou-san." He whispered, voice carried away by the stillness of the room. "I've managed to put my trust in you for five years. Don't make me regret it."

With that, the teen slipped the key around his neck and under his shirt once more, the same way his father wore it. Dragging heavy feet back to the middle of the room, he collapsed onto the mattress and supported his head with his arms, eyes staring aimlessly at the ceiling. His long and lean body remained draped across the bed, one knee propped up slightly and torso stretched out. Breathing seemed easier this way.

"Damn brat..." A whisper broke the silence of the room, and Eren turned just in time to see Levi shift in his sleep, tilting his head down a bit further to find a comfortable position.

With a secretive smile, the teen curled up on his side and closed his eyes.

And later, when Levi woke up to the sound of sneezing, he stared in surprise at the blanket in his hands, feeling something as warm as the blanket swell up in his chest.

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**Chapter one completed! Leave a review for me please? Even something similar to a YouTube comment gives me lots of happiness and support! And please tell me what you thought about my headcanon and speculation about Grisha Jaeger's motives here!**

**Note: The chapter title is the OST that plays when Mikasa finds Eren after she thought he was dead and listens to his heartbeat. ;) You can find it and that scene on YouTube if you look. **

**With lots of love,**

**~Crescent T.**


	2. Omake Pfadlib

**I'm very happy to see that this collection has garnered some attention! *claps hands excitedly* Thank you so much!**

**Ready for round two? **

**Warning: Angst ahead. I made this take place in the way way future, so a few manga spoilers are ahead.**

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**Chapter Name: **_**Omake Pfadlib**_

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**Normal POV**

Levi enjoyed things that were constant. His schedule, cleaning routine, meal times, and other cycles were all things that he enjoyed simply because they were constant factors in a world where everything was undetermined.

Among these constant factors was a special anomaly: Eren Jaeger.

No matter what, he was always there- floating reassuringly in the background or in rare times, in center stage. However, at the end of the day, he was always standing right there with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a cup of tea.

Silently, he'd smile his smallest smiles, his eyes tired and dim in the darkness of the halls as he grasped Levi's hand and led it to the cup. The older of the two would grasp the cup (a signal of his acceptance of the invitation) and follow the teen silently as he led them to the old private Special Operations Squad dining room. A single lamp would be sitting on the old table, the flame flickering gently but casting a warm light across the room. Eren's chair would already be pulled out, a teacup sitting in front of it. However, instead of heading to his chair first, he'd pull out Levi's chair-the one armed with a blanket-and smile wearily again.

Accepting the invitation, Levi would wrap the prepared blanket around his own shoulders silently and seat himself. His usually hard, silvery blue eyes would flicker from their steeliness to weary, pained, yet still hardened. Eren's own fiery rage would be extinguished, leaving behind swirling orbs of fear, pain, and dim hope.

They'd drink silently, reflecting on whatever horrible events had driven them to take momentary shelter in this old, abandoned room.

The first time: The death of the first Special Operations Squad.

The second: The discovery of the titans in the walls.

The third: The discovery that humans were titans.

The fourth: Killing humans to overthrow the government.

The fifth: Levi and his new Special Operations were almost stripped of their ranks as a consequence for the killing. And the anniversary of the first S.O. Squad's deaths at the same time.

The sixth: Erwin's trial before the king.

The seventh: Another failure outside the walls and losing more than half their forces.

The eighth: Gaining no new recruits at the next inauguration of the Trainee Corps.

The ninth: Discovering that Eren's titan abilities were eating away at his life force and slowly killing him.

The tenth: Making it to Shiganshina and finding that Grisha Jaeger's 'answer' was useless.

Number eleven: The invasion of Wall Rose and being pushed back to Wall Sina.

Number twelve: Losing more of their puny population to frantic murders, lack of food, diseases, and arsons where the Wall Rose survivor shelters were located.

Number thirteen: Today; the second anniversary of the first Special Operation Squad's death.

However, instead of sitting down silently as they usually did, Eren raised his head. "Let's go see them together later today, Heichou." He said softly.

The Corporal felt his ears ringing at the abruptly broken silence, so much that he could only manage a small nod.

* * *

The long grass rolled in the breeze as Levi stood at the top of a hill. Looking out at the scenery laid out before him, he took a deep breath. The beautiful, mildly colored grass was untouched by other humans and their desire to pack every space inside the walls with new homes and businesses.

It had been a tough fight to get it to remain this way.

A dark forest surrounded the field, the tops of its trees brushing up against the sky. It was late enough to see the sun sink below the horizon with a final kiss of farewell, dying the sky in beautiful, fiery hues of orange, red, yellow, purple, blue, and pink. Levi looked down.

It was the memorial devoted to all the sacrifices made by former Recon Corps soldiers.

Eren was already there, he could see. As he nodded to himself and began the trek down the hill, the breeze carried forth Eren's voice in a soft caress. And now that he looked closer, he could see that he moved with spins and steps similar to a whirling dance.

_Will I stay where it's safe and sound?_

_ Or will I fight till I hit the ground?_

Levi felt his breath catch in his throat and his eyes widen. The boy sang tearfully, softly, and then strongly as he spun lightly on his heel and crouched at several graves before standing and repeating the actions somewhere new. His voice was rising and falling in the meadow, and Levi realized that even the forest was reduced to a hush.

It was as though every part of nature had stopped to listen.

_Inside this bitter cage..._

_ All the flowers wilt down in the crimson sky._

Levi went forward to hear more.

_Take my hand._

_ Will we run or stay..._

_ in this world full of cruelty?_

Eren suddenly paused and stood amidst all the graves, his hands stretched out.

_Will we take arms..._

_ with the hopes to see the sun again?_

_ We pray._

Eren stood at his final destination, now saluting in front of the graves of his past teammates. Levi came forward until he was only a few paces behind, watching as silvery tears caressed the teen's face before hitting the soft grass below.

_Do we lack the strength to fight?_

He shoved his cape off his shoulders.

_Have we lost the will to fly?_

_ The world is dark._

_ The world is cruel._

_ But still we hang on tight..._

The teen knelt with a hand clutching the cloth over his heart.

_If this final breath could somehow save this world,_

Eren took in a deep, shoulder-shuddering breath and tilted his head back with a bitter smile.

_I'd breathe my last sigh...!_

_ And close my tired eyes..._

Levi resisted the urge to rush forward as his expression twisted in slight anger and concern, holding back to listen to the rest of the song.

_And all the ones we lost,_

_ We'd find again,_

Eren rose to his feet, his arms stretched out again and that beautiful bittersweet smile painted across his lips. With a light twirl on his heel, he let out more song.

_In this beautiful world, we've wished for._

His expression twisted again into pain.

_But the world grows darker, _

_ We can't recover,_

_ This narrow cage that we depend on slowly crumbles..._

Eren straightened his form into one last salute.

_Is this the end,_

_ We cannot mend?_

_ We're _

_ slowly_

_ dying..._

His gentle baritone faded away, carried off by the breeze.

_If we're here,_

_ Even with fear, we_

_ must_

_ keep_

_ fighting..._

Chocolate brown locks fell forward to gently curtain the top half of his face, casting eerie shadows across his expression as the teen bowed his head. Tan fists paled drastically with the utter force that the boy curled them with, the blunt nails digging into his palms and splitting skin.

With a harsh breath, Levi rushed forward. He placed one hand on the teen's shoulder, and the other he cupped around the fist at the soldier's sides.

He would not admit to any romantic feelings when it came to this boy. Never. Instead, he would always claim that they shared a father/son or sibling relationship, if someone truly managed to pester him enough to get him to spit out the answer.

It was concern that the teen may accidentally shed blood and transform into a titan that spurred him into holding his hand.

Nothing more.

Because, after all, Eren didn't have much longer. Every time he transformed continued to take huge chunks of his life span.

He didn't want to lose another constant factor in his life.

That was the extent of his feelings for the gorgeous teen in front of him.

...

...

...

Right?

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** Dedicated to Lizz on YouTube for her beautiful version of 'Omake Pfadlib' that inspired me to write this. I have already learned how to play 'Marco' on piano, and was a little surprised when I tried this one and found that a lot of the left hand is similar. Please go check out her channel! She also has music box versions of both the theme songs that sound amazingly good. And if you don't already know who Amanda Lee is, I would check out her collab with a friend to make and English version of 'Guren no Yumiya.'**

** Thanks for reading! Review please? **

**~Crescent T.**


	3. Where I Came From (Child Verse)

**Thank you for the support so far! I'm glad people have been giving this little collection of mine a chance. ;)**

**To make up for the angst filled chapters before, I present to you my take on what I think would happen if Eren were turned into a kid, since this seems to be quite the popular topic. I've got experience writing this since I write a lot of Detective Conan, so you shall not be disappointed! *triumphantly raises fist***

**I hope. *smiles crookedly***

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**Chapter Name: _Where I Came From_**

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**Normal POV**

It was hot.

Almost excruciatingly so.

The overwhelming heat surrounded him on all sides, similar to a never ending hot breath crawling over every inch of his skin. It was also red- the type you see when you close your eyes and look up at the sun. His eyes were scrunched up tightly, because the red was painful to look at. But it appeared behind his eyelids too, and that pressure on the front of his eyeballs never left him. It was as though someone was pushing a finger into his eyes roughly, but he couldn't escape. It was getting difficult to breathe, as though he were trapped under a thick blanket and couldn't find his way out to the cool, fresh air. His throat tingled and burned, like something hot and sparkly was lodged in it. Every breath he took cooled it for just a moment, but the air was getting thicker and warmer every second. His head felt like it would just roll off his neck and onto the floor (wherever that was)- it was just so heavy in the front of his head.

But it vaguely felt like he was laying on something. It was one of those red, really hot, and squishy/slimy things that burned his skin but didn't leave behind any marks. If he clawed at it, he felt the entire area he was in jerk roughly to the side. There were also ribbons of the slimy, slick red things connected to his face and the front of his body. They were weird- he couldn't get them off.

He wasn't sure where he was exactly. He was so sleepy, and the warmth wasn't doing anything to help that, but something else bit harshly at the edges of his consciousness; warnings and reminders. Red flares, flags, and alarm bells waved at him frantically, but his head was too tingly, heavy, and fuzzy to really process it -especially his forehead (right between his eyebrows) and the crown of his head.

Suddenly, there was a bright white spark invading the red. He flinched as his consciousness snapped and recoiled, and just as that happened, he felt cool air race into his lungs, extinguishing the warm flames he felt pooling at the depths and licking up the sides.

His mind faded away with one last thought.

_I can't believe it._

But he didn't understand it, opting instead to focus on his surroundings as something closed shut in the back of his mind.

The red faded as he allowed his eyelids to flutter open. A bright white and yellow blend of light greeted him instead, quickly replaced by mixtures of blue and white, green and brown, and green and grey. He tilted his head upwards as the wind blew away the last of the heat, cooling off his hot body. A hand went up to block the light as he squinted, which he now identified to be the sun.

He looked down and was immediately greeted by a wide field of grass, a castle in the distance, a large forest, and horses next to groups of people in military uniforms.

At his side was another young male with chestnut hair, but he was obviously very tired, going as far as to lean against the well to rest. Suddenly, the tired boy opened his eyes, revealing... his own?

Those eyes widened, and then looked down before the boy hurriedly removed his cape and threw it over his shoulders. Looking down at himself, he realized he was butt naked under the cape.

His mind snapped into alertness at the sudden embarrassment and he stood up straighter, just now realizing that several people were standing in front of him and talking. Two women were directly in front of him and several men stood a few paces away. At first, he couldn't truly hear their words through the ringing, but he willed himself to focus.

A woman with a sleek brown hair tied up in a hurried ponytail, bright brown eyes that shone with excitement, and surrounding glasses was speaking to him in rapid fire. "...Are you okay?" Her voice invaded his senses, fading in and out. "Do you know who I am? What's today's date? The year? What's your name? How old are you?"

Eren nearly stumbled back. "Huh...? I'm Eren Jaeger. Ten years old." He answered uncertainly. "The year is 845." He answered, and the people surrounding him were suddenly hushed into shocked silence.

The boy next to him suddenly balked. "Ahh! That's me! As a kid! Hanji-san, what did you do?!" He demanded.

"Who are you guys? What was happening?" Little Eren suddenly demanded, hugging the cape bigger Eren had given him closer.

"I'm Hanji!" The ponytailed woman grinned, ignoring the bigger Eren as she put her hands on another girl's shoulders. "This is Petra Ral." The orangey-caramel hair colored girl smiled warmly, but Eren kept widened eyes on her own.

_Mother's eyes..._

The boy quickly averted his gaze from Petra's face, refusing to look her in the eyes anymore than he already had. He felt as though if something had died and wilted in him, and it made his chest hurt. What bothered him most was that he didn't even understand where the thought came from.

"Hanji-san!" The older boy suddenly yelled. "What happened?! He demanded.

The ponytailed woman pushed herself up off the grass. "Well, when you got out of your titan form, I injected a regenerative chemical into the shell that was _going_ to dissolve." Hanji's shit-eating grin was blinding. "I wanted to see if I could preserve some samples, but instead, the shell regenerated until it was complete, then shrunk down to become you, and finally, became this little Eren here!" Hanji finished with a tada-voice. "Of course, this all happened while you were unconscious." She added.

Little Eren sunk down to his knees and then sat down, leaning against the well where Eren was and closing his eyes.

"He's tired." Hanji stated, writing it in her little notepad. "It's probably a side effect of the regenerating. But the problem is: I don't know how long our ten-year-old Eren will last. The regenerative chemical I created was meant to repair any dissolved body and permanently preserve the tissue, muscle, and skin it came in contact to." Hanji explained. "It probably malfunctioned because regenerating a titan shifter's body is probably the same as returning it to its original form. I think..." The woman grinned winningly at everyone. "If I hadn't given him a different chemical to stop the regenerating, then we would have a baby Eren on our hands, or even a fetus."

The team winced in slight disgust and embarrassment. "Oi, Shitty Glasses, you'll be able to create an antidote and get rid of the brat before the Military Police come knocking, right?" Levi suddenly asked. "You already had something ready in case anything went wrong, which it did, and used it to cancel out the affects of the drug." He pointed out.

The woman hummed thoughtfully before answering. "Possibly, but it would take a little time. I would have to make something that wouldn't hurt his body."

They all knew what the alternative was: killing him.

The larger Eren slowly crawled over to the younger, sleeping version of himself and gathered him up into his arms, eyes wide with wonder and awe. "Can we go inside?" He asked.

He didn't have to say anything more, and Petra took care of the little Eren until they would meet up again. Both Erens were in need of their rest.

And until Hanji could create an antidote, they would have to see how everything played out with two Erens in the vicinity.

* * *

**This is going to be called Child!Verse. If there's a good reaction to this, I'll write more (eventually) for you to enjoy. **

**So review!**

**~Crescent T.**


	4. Our Colors

**Sorry I've been gone so long! TT^TT High school kicks your butt!**

**Follow me on Insta if you want to see more SnK! I ship Ereri on there too! ;) ;) CrescentMoonTenshi**

**And the picture that inspired this Office AU is there too.**

* * *

**Chapter Name: Our Colors**

* * *

**Normal POV**

"I think you should do it." Hanji twirled a pencil between and around her fingers skillfully and absentmindedly.

Silver eyes cut across dull paperwork to meet her relaxed form.

Truthfully, she was tense and uncomfortable. He could see from the way the muscles in her back twitched or how she sometimes averted her gaze from him. Despite her eccentric and flamboyant character, Hanji was a bit more sensitive than people would think her to be.

Levi sighed deeply through his nose and set the stack of papers down, signing his name with a small flourish. "I didn't even say anything."

In other words, _How do you know about that?_

Hanji answered his unasked question. "Easy. Eren told Petra and I at lunch the other day. He was worried about asking you to do something like that and whether or not you wanted to."

"He asked."

"..."

"..."

Hanji seemed to be waiting for more details, but Levi was stubborn and steadfast in his resolve to keep others out of his love life.

The intricate clock Eren had given to him on Christmas of last year usually ticked quietly, but in the tense and thick silence of his office, he felt as though he might go deaf.

It was for this reason, after an intense staring competition filled with silence as one attempted to outdo the other, that they both jumped nearly ten feet into the air when the clock announced the next hour. A cheerful melody twinkled out of a music box bottom before one bell noise resonated through the room.

Realizing that Hanji was not caving, Levi sighed. "I told him I'd think about it."

There was another moment of silence. "That's it...?" The woman slowly said, leaning forward slightly. "Nothing else?"

Levi let one brow rise elegantly. "That's it."

The scientist suddenly let out a huge whoosh of air from her lungs as she sat back into her chair, slouching until she was practically falling off. "'Nanda?" She whined. "That's it? I thought there was more!" She sighed.

"What are you saying, shitty glasses?"

She pointedly adjusted her glasses, pushing them farther up the bridge of her nose. "Eren looked a bit worn out today. Maybe you should go check on him downstairs." She quickly stood, gathered her jacket, and left the room with a knowing smile. "See you later, Levi~!" Hanji bounced away, easily reverting back to her flamboyant personality.

Levi just wanted to go home.

* * *

"You should do it." Petra said as they met up for morning coffee.

Levi bit back a groan and fought the urge to slam his head down onto the table. "Not you too..."

"Well." She huffed, nursing her pumpkin spice latte between fingerless-gloved hands. "I'm guessing Hanji already got to you, huh?"

Despite her offended tone, Levi could easily deduce she was amused by the twinkle of mirth in her eyes. Of course, this only seemed to fuel the hellish flames of Levi's annoyance even more. "You sure seem to be getting your kicks out of this." He snapped bitterly as he sulked into his cup.

"Oooh, yikes. This is bothering you more than I thought." Petra winced. "What's the big deal anyway? Everyone in the company already knows about you guys and no one's been bothering you, right? Why not make it public for a day?" She shrugged nonchalantly as she leaned back comfortably into the booth.

"It's not me." Levi finally let out after a long moment of contemplative quiet. "I don't give two shits about what people think about me. Eren's too sensitive to that kind of thing though. The last thing I want is for him to go in thinking it'll be fine and come back out hurt because he chose me." He couldn't hold back the tiny amount of emotion that had seeped through his usually unbreakable mask.

Petra, having been with Levi for a long time, felt as though she were listening to a grown person full of grief and pain sobbing, even though a normal person would believe his tone to be flat. Her eyes and throat suddenly began prickling, so she quickly took another swallow of her drink to hide her expression.

"I didn't know you were thinking about it like that..."

They were silent as the customers finally began trickling into the little cafe. Petra and Levi were typically the first to arrive for coffee and were first to leave when the usual flow of people began. Today, however, neither made to move from the booth.

After another moment, Petra finally spoke. "I understand that you're watching out for Eren, but I think you should give him a little more wiggle room. Both you and Mikasa-chan smother him so much, sheltering from anything you can, but Eren's the type to explode after being trapped for too long. You already know this."

Levi nodded curtly, not quite sure where the woman was going with this.

"I think you should let him make the big decisions sometimes. I know that's difficult because of your ages, but this is for his own good as well. If Eren says he wants to participate tomorrow, then I think you should support him." She finished up the rest of her drink. "Eren's not a kid anymore either, and if he makes a mistake somewhere along this road, then you should be there to pick him back up and nudge him forward."

"So..." Levi waited for her to make her point.

Petra's temper was suddenly unleashed, and she spoke in a harsh and critical tone that rose and fell in volume as she let out her thoughts.

"I'm saying that you shouldn't treat Eren like a little kid anymore! He understands that what he's thinking about doing is dangerous for both you and him, but he still wants to tackle the problem at its core! And if you can't support him, then maybe you weren't meant to be his partner in the first place!" Petra angrily slammed money onto the table to pay for their coffee and stormed off before Levi could even open his mouth to retort.

_Maybe that was a bit much...? _The caramel haired female thought to herself guiltily as she adjusted her scarf. She looked up to the crisp autumn sky, ironically a brighter blue than the skies of summer.

_You better hope this works, Hanji._

* * *

Levi suddenly burst into the room, and Eren snapped his head up from his paperwork.

His partner's clothes were slightly disheveled, as though he had angrily stormed his way across some distance to arrive at the secretaries' cubicles. His scarf was strewn hastily around his neck and his coat was open instead of neatly buttoned.

The man walked briskly across the office as soon as his eyes met Eren's. The brunet stood quickly and a bit nervously, his hands up in front of him but stalled because he had no idea what was wrong.

"Levi...?"

The man stopped until he stood just in front of Eren, his gaze intense but clear. Eren reached forward and began fixing his scarf into the style he knew was Levi's favorite, his eyes flickering up to meet Levi's once in a while. He noticed as he began to button up the man's coat that his gaze never left his face.

"What's wrong?" He murmured gently, straightening up to meet his partner's eyes.

Light circled Levi's pupils in that same way it had when he had seen _something_ in Eren the day they met- something that pushed their whole story into some sort of triggering action.

"I'll do it." He suddenly spoke up, and a wave of confusion washed over Eren. "Tomorrow." He added.

A gentle smile of excitement, relief, and pride suddenly danced across his lips and Eren spoke, "You will? Really?" He breathed.

One curt nod.

One curt nod, and Eren was throwing his arms around his lover with a happy cry. Smiling slightly, Levi gently pressed his lips to his lover's.

Needless to say, the secretaries' office burst into a round of cheers, applause, and whistling.

* * *

"Black, long sleeve sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans, but not navy. The shoes are up to you." Levi instructed before slamming the door to Eren's room shut.

"Hah..." The young adult blinked his emerald green eyes twice with confusion.

He was still a bit worried for his lover though. Levi continued to act tense and a bit skittish, though very few could notice. He made more eye contact with Eren than usual, and his silvery eyes had become a paler, more milky color that Eren had always associated with tears and pleading.

Frowning, Eren shuffled through his closet to find the clothing Levi had instructed, a bit curious at the choice in clothing.

Nevertheless, he obediently changed his clothes and slipped on a pair of converse. He kissed Mikasa goodbye and tossed Armin the spare key with a short "I'm out" before stepping outside his apartment door and waiting for Levi.

The man appeared not a moment later, his outfit matching Eren's and a plain, dark beige bag that seemed like it came from an expensive store in hand.

Levi met him with a small smile. "Let's go."

Eren nodded silently, slowly grabbing his lover's hands and weaving their fingers together uncertainly. He let out a small, relieved breath when he received a reassuring squeeze from his partner.

"So," Eren began, feeling in considerably high spirits. "Where are we going, since you seem to have a plan." There was a pointed look to the small bag in Levi's hand, and Eren frowned when he noticed that the inside was shielded from view with the help of tissue paper.

"Just on a small date," Levi answered. "Like we usually do on Saturdays."

"Coffee?" Eren asked.

Levi nodded once, his sights on the streets before them as he maneuvered the two of them around people. "But there's this place Petra and Oluo went to the other day. She asked me to take you there. It's in Trost Square."

A thought nudged at the edge of his brain. _Trost Square. Today. _Eren pushed it aside hastily and focused on enjoying the day with Levi.

They soon arrived to the little cafe and Eren had to say that Petra deserved a hand for her excellent taste in cozy, quiet cafes.

Levi seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier, and Eren was able to relax too. They talked about whatever they could, especially since they hadn't had much time to meet with work in the way.

"And then I walked in and Jean was with Armin, sitting so close while watching the movie that they were _touching!_ What does he see in that horseface?!" Eren nearly shrieked.

"How do you know it was _that?_" Levi asked, leaning forward and raising his brows.

Eren seemed a bit put off. "I would know because I've been through that stage already, with-" Eren seemed to realize what he was saying and Levi's knowing smirk. "You jerk!" He blushed a deep scarlet.

"You were saying...?" Levi promoted, that smirk growing ever wider.

Eren covered his mouth with the sleeve of his sweater, his blush more prominent against the black. "W-with... you." He finished.

"Hmmm..." Levi hummed appreciatively, a small smile on his lips.

He always seemed to smile around Eren.

"Let's go." Levi suddenly said, placing money on the table, knowing it was his turn to pay.

They walked out together, and abruptly, the thought that had nagged at him earlier came into full focus.

"Don't support gay rights!"

"God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!"

"Gays are faggots!"

"Screw them!"

_National Coming-Out Day:_

_ "An organization group that works to discourage gay rights is gathering at one o'clock Saturday in Trost Square. They are planning a riot..."_

The news several days ago.

Eren's grip on Levi's hand tightened considerably as he was filled with sheer anger and pain at the sight of those poor, stubborn people. They refused to acknowledge that love did not occur through the body. Sex didn't matter.

It wasn't fair that they were discriminated against. That's why he and Levi had signed the Gay-Straight ALLiance in their community, so that they could all work together to put an end to this era's discrimination.

"Levi..." Eren murmured.

Levi suddenly dragged Eren forward until they were marching in front of the crowd. His gaze was steely and determined, while Eren stared at his lover with worry.

The shorter of the two opened the bag he had toted around with him all day and pulled out a long, multicolored scarf. The colors of Gay-Straight support. He wrapped one part around his neck and the other around Eren's, and in one swift motion, his lips had descended upon the younger's softer ones. Surprised, Eren leaned back to support their weight, one eye briefly catching the rude finger Levi had made to the crowd of anti-homosexuals.

This was who they were.

Nothing could change that.

Eren closed his eyes, reveling in the sweet kiss, the world suddenly fading away.

Even the outraged roars from the crowd could no longer reach him with Levi at his side.

* * *

**Lots of love,**

** Crescent T.**


End file.
